bobby - rmd critical review

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Bobby ChristopherCTL id: 105226-84

College of Technology London

Research Methodology

Critical review of:

Fam, K.-S. et al., 2011. In-Store marketing: a strategic perspective. Asia Pacific

Journal of Marketi ng and Logis ti cs, 23(2 ), pp .1 65-76.

Tutor: Dr Wilson Ozuem

Submitted By: Bobby Christopher

CTL ID: 105226-84

UWL ID: 1003058

MBA (Term 2)

Pathway: Marketing (Group 2)Module code: SBMA7006

Date of Submission: July 11th 2011


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Introduction

This assignment is a critical review of the paper written by Fam et al(2011) entitled, In-storemarketing: a strategic perspective. This article was published in the Asia Pacific Journal

of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 23, Issue 2, pp 165 176.

The review of this paper provides arguments from the proposed title, research design, findings

and it also evaluates the validity and reliability of the primary findings through questionnaires

in this regard. The paper is summarised by discussing the contributions that the study has

made.

As a Marketing student this paper has been chosen as it can help add valuable information to

the knowledge base, regarding the 2 major keys for in-store marketing strategies.

Summary of the paper

The research paper begins by discussing the need for in-store marketing strategies. It talks

about the fact that recession has had a huge impact on consumers causing them to spend less

hence shop less and that in turn has caused businesses to react by having huge discounted

sales and increasing in-store promotions. Even though the final outcome states that there has

been an increase in sales the sad point to be noted is that the profits of a business do not

increase (Bennett, 1998).

The key concepts that have been taken into discussion in this paper are that the in-storepromotions can be classified into two dimensions. As such, (Fam et al., 2011) claim that the key

dimensions which are in-store promotions and in-store price mark downs create excitement

within the store environment (p. 170). Arguably, this is one of the factors that lead to the

increase in purchases when a customer gets into the stores. Additionally, it may be well to

note that these factors are both internal, as the title of the research suggests.

One of the primary aims of this paper is to challenge the existing paradigm that in-store

marketing is one of the best ways to promote the products and the activities in the store.

Additionally, it has been claimed that global economics has had a huge impact on the

marketing strategies that are carried out in a store.

The study shows that an extensive review of the literature was performed and the key theories

were identified and put into perspective. The result of the critical review was that the authors

were able to formulate the research questions or the research hypotheses. Unlike many other

research studies, the authors in this case have chosen to formulate a strategic framework with

six propositions. The propositions are listed as follows:

1. The high-profile strategic group will have higher perceptions of the importanceof both direct mail and mass media advertising.

2. The discount strategic group will have higher perceptions of the importance ofboth forms of in-store marketing, namely in-store promotions and pricemarkdowns.


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3. Retailers with higher levels of perceived environmental uncertainty are likely tofavour in-store promotion.

4. Retailers who give higher weighting to using price-promotions to create in-store excitement will also have higher perceptions of in-store marketing.

5. Retailers who give higher weighting to using price-promotions to create aquality image will favour external marketing and disfavour in-store marketing.

6. Retailers who give a higher weighting to using price-promotions to react tocompetitors will favour price markdowns and disfavour external marketing.

(Fam et al., 2011, pp.167, 168)

These propositions that have been developed as a result of the literature review clearly define

the objectives of the study. Also, they provide great clarity to the research title which is to

investigate the in-store marketing strategies. It has also been observed that while the research

objectives or the research propositions cannot possibly answer all questions regarding the

research, the propositions that have been proposed are fairly well constructed and cover every

area in the subject of in-store marketing. These propositions meet the criterion that is

required for a good research question (Tharenou et al., 2007).

The methodology section of the research is detailed and covers most of the questions that may

arise as to the collection of the data and the sampling methods that have been used. The

analysis of the data has been done through ANOVA analysis and presumably SPSS. The

detailed descriptions that are provided by the researchers

Purpose and Rationale of the PaperThe title of the research paper clearly indicates the objectives that it is set to achieve a

strategic approach to in-store marketing. There seems to be not too much literature in this

area and the authors have been able to identify the key theories that are needed for this paper.

This topic is a good topic for discussion as it is a fact that most customers make judgements

and final decisions on products once they are in the store. According to (Agnew, 1987) many

customers do not make up their minds until they are in the store and see what they like,

studies show that over two thirds of decisions on brands and items in the supermarket were

actually made once the customer was in the store.

Fam et al(2011) have been able provide a clear aspect on the purpose of the research paper by

stating what they intend to accomplish with this study. The research papers main focus is on

the retail strategy approach to promotion mix decisions. The authors (Fam et al., 2011, p.166)

intend to address the main topic by taking two key aspects into consideration: which are to

address the two key dimensions of the in-store marketing strategies and to bridge the gaps in

the impact of the external environment on the in-store marketing objectives.

The personal rational for this research study could stem from the fact that the authors are all

professors in the marketing field and as a result, this study would certainly help them in the

progress that they could achieve in terms of the knowledge that they would gain from the

study. Also, with the subject of in-store marketing, there are several avenues that can bestudied; however, these aspects of in-store marketing have been studied in this research as


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they appeal to the authors. They bring into consideration that though there are other key

areas that can be studied to improve in-store marketing strategies; they have still chosen these

two key dimensions as they appeal to them the most (p. 165). The authors come from very

strong background of marketing research as all of them are professors and work in the field of

marketing. As such, this provides for a strong justification of the personal rational for

choosing this topic.

These areas have also been supported through evidence (such as Fam & Yang, 2006; Jin & Kim,

2003) and others (p. 166). These areas have been identified by several authors as the primary

areas that need to be investigated with respect to in-store marketing.

As per the academic knowledge that the paper is supposed to provide, the justification is that

this paper will provide an insight into the in-store marketing strategies that are followed in

the retail sector, with particular emphasis on the New Zealand market. This paper will also

provide insight particularly into the retail marketing strategies of the in-store promotions with

special reference to small countries. As such, the academic justification for the study is foundto be in order.

With respect to the business rationale, this authors claim that this paper will provide an

insight into the strategic aspects of in-store marketing which are becoming more and more

common in the modern business world (example TESCO, ASDA, and Lidl in the UK).

Theoretical Framework

Before carrying out a deductive study, it is imperative that the theoretical frameworks should

be established. Also, factors such as what is known about the research topic should be clearlyidentified. This sets the perspective for the research and researchers can carry on from where

previous researchers have left out.

Tharenou et al(2007) state that A theoretical framework, no matter how tentative, is needed to

structure the study, so as not to be overwhelmed by the amount of data and not end up just in a

descriptive narrative.(p. 84)

Having considered the importance of the theoretical framework, it is evident that the

researchers have spent adequate time on identifying and discussing relevant theories on this

subject in-store promotions and marketing. However, the literature review is very brief

which could be an indication that the researchers went into the study with pre-conceivednotions or in other words, researcher bias. The authors also state that although there are many

more avenues to consider when it comes to in-store promotions and marketing strategies,

they have focused on in-store promotions and price markdowns as these seem to the most

important factors related to in-store marketing (according to Fam & Yang, 2006; Jin & Kim,

2003) (p. 166, 167).

The authors seem to have been able to identify most of the relevant studies that are related to

the topic in question, despite the lack of adequate studies on the subject. Also, as the authors

have acknowledged, there are indeed more studies that are related to the store atmosphere

and the spatial stock management aspects of in-store marketing. As such, this topic makes a


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good topic for a research study seeing that there are not too many studies already conducted

in this area.

One of the major flaws that seem to come across through the literature review is the fact that

most of the studies that have been identified and discussed have taken place more than 5 years

prior to this research. This could either indicate that no one has ventured to conduct researchin this area or that the researcher has been unable to identify current/ recent studies around

the subject. For instance, one of the more recent studies that has been ignored/ omitted/

missed by the researchers is the study by Smith & Sinha (2000) which is quite relevant to the

topic of in-store promotions. Although this study may also be more than 5 years older, it is

certainly more recent than many of the other research papers that have been identified by the

authors. Critically, the authors, although they have managed to identify most of the research

papers that pertain to the topic in question, it may have been better if they could have studied

the literature a little more than that did.

Fam et al(2011) have proposed research propositions instead of research questions or researchhypotheses. However, it seems unlikely that 6 propositions can be proposed from such a short

literature review. Although the propositions seem to be well founded, there may certainly be

an aspect of researcher bias in the formulation of these propositions. The reason for that is the

fact that the literature has not been discussed in detail and even though the authors have

introduced the works of several researchers, the discussion and the presentation seems to be

like they are just supporting their personal views rather than analysing their findings and

conclusions.

According to Gill & Johnson (2002, p. 152) ...without a theoretical framework the researcher is

in danger of providing description without wider meaning. Overall, there seems to be a lack of

the development of the theory in order to arrive at the propositions. Also, since the literature

review is very short, the credibility of the research propositions can be questioned.

Additionally, the review of the literature does not provide a strong framework for the

development of the research. Due to these reasons, it is highly probable that the findings that

emerge from this study may be subject to researcher bias and also may not be credible as the

literature review does not show that the researcher has sufficiently studies the existing

literature.

Sampling and Data Collection Methods

The nature of this study is a deductive, explanatory study. The authors have formulated the

testing criteria (the hypotheses) from the literature which have the elements that have to be

tested. As such the study can be called a hypotheses testing study. According to (Sekaran,

1992), hypotheses testing explains the various relationships between the variables that are

being tested. He goes on to say that testing hypothesis can provide much more insight into the

relationships and the nature in which the variables are interlinked to each other.

The research design that is followed here in this study is a questionnaire. The proposed

population for the sample were the clothing and shoe retailers in New Zealand. It may be

argues that food retailers should have also been included in the study as the food retailers arealso involved in in-store marketing strategies. The absence of testing the propositions with


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respect to the food retailers may have a limited effect on the validity and the reliability on the

study. In other words, this study may not be generalisable to the entire retail industry as the

sample does not consider the food retailers as well as the other general retail stores. As such,

although the validity of the research may not be limited by too much, it can be argued that

general retail outlets and food retail stores should have also been considered for the sample.

Additionally, the sample should have consisted of the customers and the other levels of

employees so as to eliminate all respondent bias (Wright & Marsden, 2010).

The research design section of the paper states that the questionnaire was pre tested before

actually sending them out to the field (Fam et al., 2011, p.169). However, although the results

of the pre-testing have not been mentioned, it can be assumed that the necessary corrections

were made and that the questionnaire was error free to the highest possible extent. This does

not remove the element that the questionnaire may still have a certain degree of error in

them. However, it does ascertain the fact that the questionnaire was tested and checked for

any anomalies.

The process of determining the sample has also been explicitly stated. The sample for the

study consisted of the managers of the retail outlets as they were the ones who made the

decisions about the in-store marketing campaigns. However, although the marketing

decisions are made by the managers, it may have been useful to include the perspective of the

employees as well (Wright & Marsden, 2010). To get a clearer understanding of the measures

that are being tested, it is advisable that the sample should include any variable that may

affect the outcome of the result. The sampling frame was taken from the yellow pages in

which the list of clothing and shoe retail stores were identified. However, the reliability of the

yellow pages can be questioned as the records are not updated in real time. Some of the details

on the yellow pages may be incorrect and as a result, the reliability of the data that is receivedfrom the yellow pages can be questioned.

The response rate from this survey indicated that only 39% of the recipients of the

questionnaire responded to the survey. This may be an indication that the questions in the

survey may not have been framed properly or may not have been as clear and concise as

required to produce a better result (Kothari, 2004). Although it was stated that the

questionnaire were tested before fielding them, there are chances that there may have been

some errors in the questionnaire that might have led to the low response rate. Also, since the

questionnaire was mailed out to the respondents, there is no surety that the intended person

may have replied to the mail and there is no surety that the person may have even looked atthe mail. As such, care should have been taken to inform the intended recipients about the

survey. Fam et al(2011) have not ensured that the recipients were notified about the surveys in

any other way other than emails. This may have been another factor that caused the low

response rate. It may also be argued that the reason for the low response rate could be due to

the fact that the sample was chosen from the yellow pages and that many of the intended

recipients may not have received the questionnaire (Fam et al., 2011, p.169). This is another

factor that could deter the reliability and the validity of the findings. Although it may not be a

huge factor, it could certainly lead to error in computation and analysis.

Although the researchers state that they have tested the questions for non-response bias, it

may be a possibility that although there seemed to be no bias evident from the responses,


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there could have been an element of response bias in the survey. Any bias in a survey

undermines the validity and the reliability of the study. With as response rate of just 39%, the

possibility of response bias is high and as such, the validity and the reliability of the study

suffer to an extent (Kothari, 2004). According to a study by Baruch (1999), it was found that

the average response rate for a study that involved collecting data from managerial level

representatives was just about 36% and studies that involved middle management level

representatives had an average response rate of about 60%. Considering these factors, it may

be safe to assume that the response rate that was received by the researchers in this study was

below par, the reason being that most of the managers in the survey represented middle level

managers. As such, the reliability and the validity of the study may be greatly affected by the

low response rates in this case.

The second objective of the study was ...to identify the capabilities that lead to successful

application of in-store marketing, especially in-store promotions. (Fam et al., 2011, p.169). The

18 promotional activities that were taken into consideration were the ones that were identified

by Merrilees & Fam (1999). Considering the fact that this research was published in the

International Review of Retail Distribution & Consumer Research, this was a good model to

choose in order to evaluate the various in-store promotional activities.

The analysis and the interpretations ofthe data was done by ANOVA analysis which was used

to ascertain whether there is a significant difference between the high and low performers for any

particular activity, such as having creative wall posters, coordinating media, forecasting

demand, etc. (Fam et al., 2011, pp.169,170). The methods of interpreting the data have been

clearly specified.

Generalisability, Validity and Reliability

From the critical review, it is seen that there are a few problems that are observed with respect

to the sampling methods. The first problem with the sample frame and the sample is the

credibility of the sample. This sample frame was extracted from the yellow pages which may

contain invalid details and also incorrect details at times. As such, the credibility of the sample

suffers. This is turn affects the validity and the generalisability of the findings.

Another primary factor that affects the generalisability of this study is that the sample was

chosen from the yellow pages of which the response rate was just about 39%. The low

response rate and the sample frame may place a limitation on the generalisability of thefindings in this study. Additionally, the participants for the survey were middle level managers

in the retail outlets of only the shoe and clothing stores. As such, the sample may not be a

representation of the ideal population which should have included the customers as well as

the employees at various other levels. Also, the question of researcher bias as well as

respondent bias also seems to exist in this study which further undermines the validity and

the generalisability of the study (Kothari, 2004).


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Contributions to Knowledge

With this study, (Fam et al., 2011) aimed to add to the knowledge base of the existing literature

around the topic of in-store promotions. While this paper does add to the existing knowledge

around the topic, the credibility of the study can be questioned. One of the reasons as to why

the study can be questioned is that the literature review is very brief and does not discuss anyissue in detail.

As the authors claim, there are not many studies in the area of in-store marketing with respect

to in-store promotions and price mark downs. Interestingly, it is indeed true that there are

more studies that are concerned with the in-store atmosphere and the other aspects of the in-

store marketing than in-store promotions and price mark downs. As such, this paper does

provide an insight into the various practices that are undertaken in the retail industry, with

particular emphasis on the shoe and clothing sectors (with special emphasis on New Zealand).

Although it may be assumed that the propositions for the research were researcher biased,

the findings proved that the researchers views were in fact correct. Crucially, where theauthors had set out to examine two key dimensions of in-store marketing (Fam et al., 2011,

p.165), they have been able to achieve this goal.

Recommendations

The key recommendations that stem from this critical review can be summed up by the

following:

The sample frame should be a more reliable source than the yellow pages which oftentends to have out-dated information and incorrect information as well

The sample should have consisted of other levels of employees as well as customers.The reason being that the customers may be the among the best persons to be able to

identify if a particular in-store marketing strategy is working or not and also, it would

prevent the findings from being biased to the point of view of the managers.

The literature review of this study is very brief, thus undermining the credibility of thestudy. As such, the literature review of a deductive study should have more importance

so as to increase the validity of the study.

Conclusion

Fam et al(2011) have brought out an interesting aspect of in-store marketing an area that has

not been explored much in previous studies. This study has provided an insight into the

promotional strategies that retail outlets undertake, with special reference to in-store

promotions and price markdowns. Interestingly, both these strategies seem to be targeting

one particular area of the consumers behaviour the in-store excitement that drives

consumers to purchase more. The authors have also discussed the various related theories

concerning in-store marketing and have also managed to bridge the gap in the studies, i.e.,

they have explored the previously unexplored area of the in-store marketing strategies -

promotions and price markdowns.


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